The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 10
History
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. 10
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1775-1783; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783 -- Sources
If war should hereafter arise between Great Britain and the United
States, which God forbid, the merchants of either country, then
residing in the other, shall be allowed to remain nine months to
collect their debts and settle their affairs, and may depart freely,
carrying off all their effects, without molestation or hinderance. And
all fishermen, all cultivators of the earth, and all artisans or
manufacturers, unarmed and inhabiting unfortified towns, villages, or
places, who labor for the common subsistence and benefit of mankind,
and peaceably follow their respective employments, shall be allowed to
continue the same, and shall not be molested by the armed force of the
enemy, in whose power, by the events of war, they may happen to fall;
but if anything is necessary to be taken from them for the use of such
armed force, the same shall be paid for at a reasonable price. All
merchants or traders, with their unarmed vessels employed in commerce,
exchanging the products of different places, and thereby rendering the
necessaries, conveniences and comforts of human life more easy to
obtain, and more general, shall be allowed to pass freely unmolested.
And neither of the powers, parties to this treaty, shall grant or
issue any commission to any private armed vessel, empowering them to
take or destroy such trading ships or interrupt such commerce.
ARTICLE XII.
And in case either of the contracting parties shall happen to be
engaged in war with any other nation, it is further agreed, in order
to prevent all the difficulties and misunderstandings that usually
arise respecting the merchandise heretofore called contraband, such as
arms, ammunition, and military stores of all kinds, that no such
articles carrying by the ships or subjects of one of the parties to
the enemies of the other, shall, on any account, be deemed contraband,
so as to induce confiscation and a loss of property to individuals;
nevertheless, it shall be lawful to stop such ships and detain them
for such length of time as the captors may think necessary to prevent
the inconvenience or damage that might ensue from their proceeding on
their voyage, paying, however, a reasonable compensation for the loss
such arrest shall occasion to the proprietors. And it shall further be
allowed to use in the service of the captors, the whole, or any part
of the military stores so detained, paying to the owners the full
value of the same, to be ascertained by the current price at the place
of its destination.
ARTICLE XIII.
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